The War Z has not had the best PR in the last week or so, and things are not getting any better for the post-apocalyptic zombie survival action game. Apparently, even as Hammerpoint Interactive released the game and then had it pulled from Steam, the company behind it had lost its trademark for the game.. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website (by way of Polygon) has had its trademark suspended since November 15, 2012.

Its trademark was suspended because it was too similar to World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which was published in 2006. A film of the same name is planned for release by Paramount in June 2013. Because Paramount also plans on creating a video game based on the IP, it filed for a trademark suspension against the developers of the game.

If The War Z wants to continue on in one form or another, it will likely have to undergo a name change that is not at all similar to Paramount's license.